1964 Nippon Professional Baseball season
# 1964 Nippon Professional Baseball season

The 1964 Nippon Professional Baseball season was the 15th season of operation of Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB).

## Regular season

### Standings

Central League regular season standings :

| Team | G | W | L | T | Pct. | GB |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Hanshin Tigers | 140 | 80 | 56 | 4 | .588 | — |
| Taiyo Whales | 140 | 80 | 58 | 2 | .580 | 1.0 |
| Yomiuri Giants | 140 | 71 | 69 | 0 | .507 | 11.0 |
| Hiroshima Carp | 140 | 64 | 73 | 3 | .467 | 16.5 |
| Kokutetsu Swallows | 140 | 61 | 74 | 5 | .452 | 18.5 |
| Chunichi Dragons | 140 | 57 | 83 | 0 | .407 | 25.0 |

Pacific League regular season standings :

| Team | G | W | L | T | Pct. | GB |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Nankai Hawks | 150 | 84 | 63 | 3 | .571 | — |
| Hankyu Braves | 150 | 79 | 65 | 6 | .549 | 3.5 |
| Toei Flyers | 150 | 78 | 68 | 4 | .534 | 5.5 |
| Tokyo Orions | 150 | 77 | 68 | 5 | .531 | 6.0 |
| Nishitetsu Lions | 150 | 63 | 81 | 6 | .438 | 19.5 |
| Kintetsu Buffaloes | 150 | 55 | 91 | 4 | .377 | 28.5 |

## Postseason

### Japan Series

PL Nankai Hawks (4) vs. CL Hanshin Tigers (3)

| Game | Date | Score | Location | Time | Attendance |
| - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | October 1 | Nankai Hawks – 2, Hanshin Tigers – 0 | Koshien Stadium | 2:14 | 19,904 |
| 2 | October 2 | Nankai Hawks – 2, Hanshin Tigers – 5 | Koshien Stadium | 2:15 | 19,190 |
| 3 | October 4 | Hanshin Tigers – 5, Nankai Hawks – 4 | Osaka Stadium | 2:47 | 29,932 |
| 4 | October 5 | Hanshin Tigers – 3, Nankai Hawks – 4 | Osaka Stadium | 2:16 | 30,107 |
| 5 | October 6 | Hanshin Tigers – 6, Nankai Hawks – 3 | Osaka Stadium | 2:28 | 26,962 |
| 6 | October 9 | Nankai Hawks – 4, Hanshin Tigers – 0 | Koshien Stadium | 1:46 | 25,471 |
| 7 | October 10 | Nankai Hawks – 3, Hanshin Tigers – 0 | Koshien Stadium | 2:07 | 15,172 |

## League leaders

### Central League

Batting leaders :

| Stat | Player | Team | Total |
| - | - | - | - |
| Batting average | Shinichi Eto | Chunichi Dragons | .323 |
| Home runs | Sadaharu Oh | Yomiuri Giants | 55 |
| Runs batted in | Sadaharu Oh | Yomiuri Giants | 119 |
| Runs | Sadaharu Oh | Yomiuri Giants | 110 |
| Hits | Takeshi Kuwata | Taiyo Whales | 161 |
| Stolen bases | Takeshi Koba | Hiroshima Carp | 57 |

Pitching leaders :

| Stat | Player | Team | Total |
| - | - | - | - |
| Wins | Gene Bacque | Hanshin Tigers | 29 |
| Losses | Minoru Kakimoto | Chunichi Dragons | 19 |
| Earned run average | Gene Bacque | Hanshin Tigers | 1.89 |
| Strikeouts | Masaichi Kaneda | Kokutetsu Swallows | 231 |
| Innings pitched | Gene Bacque | Hanshin Tigers | 3531⁄3 |

### Pacific League

Batting leaders :

| Stat | Player | Team | Total |
| - | - | - | - |
| Batting average | Yoshinori Hirose | Nankai Hawks | .366 |
| Home runs | Katsuya Nomura | Nankai Hawks | 41 |
| Runs batted in | Katsuya Nomura | Nankai Hawks | 115 |
| Runs | Yoshinori Hirose | Nankai Hawks | 110 |
| Hits | Masahiro Doi | Kintetsu Buffaloes | 168 |
| Stolen bases | Yoshinori Hirose | Nankai Hawks | 72 |

Pitching leaders :

| Stat | Player | Team | Total |
| - | - | - | - |
| Wins | Masaaki Koyama | Tokyo Orions | 30 |
| Losses | Toshiaki Tokuhisa | Kintetsu Buffaloes | 23 |
| Earned run average | Yoshiro Tsumashima | Tokyo Orions | 2.15 |
| Strikeouts | Yukio Ozaki | Toei Flyers | 197 |
| Innings pitched | Masaaki Koyama | Tokyo Orions | 3611⁄3 |

## Awards

* Most Valuable Player
   * Sadaharu Oh, Yomiuri Giants (CL)
   * Joe Stanka, Nankai Hawks (PL)
* Rookie of the Year
   * Shigeyuki Takahashi, Taiyo Whales (CL)
   * No PL recipient
* Eiji Sawamura Award
   * Gene Bacque, Hanshin Tigers (CL)

Central League Best Nine Award winners :

| Position | Player | Team |
| - | - | - |
| Pitcher | Gene Bacque | Hanshin Tigers |
| Catcher | Masahiko Mori | Yomiuri Giants |
| First baseman | Sadaharu Oh | Yomiuri Giants |
| Second baseman | Morimichi Takagi | Chunichi Dragons |
| Third baseman | Shigeo Nagashima | Yomiuri Giants |
| Shortstop | Yoshio Yoshida | Hanshin Tigers |
| Outfielder | Kazuhiko Kondo | Taiyo Whales |
| Outfielder | Shinichi Eto | Chunichi Dragons |
| Outfielder | Shozo Shigematsu | Taiyo Whales |

Pacific League Best Nine Award winners :

| Position | Player | Team |
| - | - | - |
| Pitcher | Joe Stanka | Nankai Hawks |
| Catcher | Katsuya Nomura | Nankai Hawks |
| First baseman | Kihachi Enomoto | Tokyo Orions |
| Second baseman | Daryl Spencer | Hankyu Braves |
| Third baseman | Akitoshi Kodama | Kintetsu Buffaloes |
| Shortstop | Kenji Koike | Nankai Hawks |
| Outfielder | Isao Harimoto | Toei Flyers |
| Outfielder | Teruyuki Takakura | Nishitetsu Lions |
| Outfielder | Yoshinori Hirose | Nankai Hawks |
